by ti-amie Tournament: Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Level: WTA 500
Dates: February 5 - February 11, 2024
Total Financial Commitment: $922,573
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
1 Elena Rybakina 3
2 Ons Jabeur 6
3 Maria Sakkari 8
4 Barbora Krejcikova 10
5 Beatriz Haddad Maia 11
6 Jelena Ostapenko 12
7 Liudmila Samsonova 14
8 Daria Kasatkina 15
Veornika Kudermetova 16
Caroline Garcia 20
Magda Linette 24
Sorana Cirstea 26
Anastasia Potapova 27
Anhelina Kalinina 28
Jasmine Paolini 30
Emma Navarro 31
Lesia Tsurenko 32
(Top 20 WC)
(Top 20 WC)
Emma Raducanu (WC)
Naomi Osaka (WC)
(SE)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
by ti-amie Qualifying Draw
CZE L. Noskova (1) vs D. Shnaider
JPN E. Koike vs ESP C. Bucsa (10)
CZE M. Bouzkova (2) vs JPN M. Hontama
CYP R. Serban vs FRA D. Parry (7)
USA C. Dolehide (3) vs CZE L. Fruhvirtova
GRE D. Papamichail vs USA D. Collins (8)
USA S. Kenin (4) vs GBR H. Watson
ESP R. Masarova vs KAZ Y. Putintseva (9)
ESP S. Sorribes Tormo (5) vs KSA Y. Alhogbani
JPN W. Sonobe vs USA B. Pera (12)
ITA L. Bronzetti (6) vs AUS D. Saville
BLR A. Sasnovich vs USA A. Krueger (11)
by ti-amie UPDATED MD Singles Qualifiers Placed
KAZ E. Rybakina (1)/BYE
JPN N. Osaka vs USA D. Collins
CHN Xinyu Wang vs CHN L. Zhu
GBR H. Watson vs LAT J. Ostapenko (5)
CZE B. Krejcikova (4)/BYE
RUS V. Kudermetova vs CZE L. Noskova
UKR A. Kalinina vs ESP P. Badosa
UKR L. Tsurenko vs RUS L. Samsonova (8)
RUS D. Kasatkina (7) vs FRA D. Parry
USA B. Pera vs USA A. Krueger
FRA C. Garcia vs ROU S. Cirstea
BYE/GRE M. Sakkari (3)
BRA B. Haddad Maia (6) vs CHN Xiyu Wang
PHI A. Eala vs POL M. Linette
CZE M. Bouzkova vs GBR E. Raducanu
BYE/TUN O. Jabeur (2)
by Fastbackss At least Osaka will get a match against a qualifier (who will likely be reasonably ranked looking at the field) before getting the #1 seed rybakina
by
Suliso Fastbackss wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:52 pm
At least Osaka will get a match against a qualifier (who will likely be reasonably ranked looking at the field) before getting the #1 seed rybakina
It could be Collins or Noskova...
by ashkor87 Collins,..too bad! Not that Noskova would have been easier but Collins is a seasoned fighter
by ponchi101 I don't know what kind of motivation a player that announced this is her last year can have.
She will collect the checks she can, and rightly so, and then bye bye Danielle. But I don't see her playing top tennis anymore.
by
meganfernandez ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 5:20 pm
I don't know what kind of motivation a player that announced this is her last year can have.
She will collect the checks she can, and rightly so, and then bye bye Danielle. But I don't see her playing top tennis anymore.
i'm not sure she 100% meant that about retirement, and these days, retirement can mean an indefinite break but not final. She's probably burnt out and I don't expect great tennis from her, but you never know when things might change for her and she's engaged again. Just hard to say. I hope we haven't seen the last of her best tennis. She's fun to have in the mix. But I bet the rhuematoid arthritis is hard to deal with.
by ti-amie Day 3 Order of Play
Stadium Court Starts at 4:00 AM
FRA C. GARCIA vs ROU S. CIRSTEA
Followed by
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs CHN X. WANG
Followed by
RUS D. KASATKINA (7) vs FRA D. PARRY
Followed by
CZE M. BOUZKOVA vs GBR E. RADUCANU
ADCB Court 1 Starts at 4:00 AM
TPE H. CHAN/MEX G. OLMOS (3) vs UKR A. KALININA/CHN Y. XU
Followed by
USA B. PERA vs USA A. KRUEGER
Followed by
ESP C. BUCSA/ROU M. NICULESCU vs USA C. DOLEHIDE/USA D. KRAWCZYK
by
ti-amie Why would the WTA site indicate the qualifiers?
Ed Salmon
@
fogmount@mas.to
Qualifiers placed in Abu Dhabi: #tennis
Collins–Osaka
Watson–Ostapenko
Noskova–Kudermetova
Parry–Kasatkina
Pera–(Q) Krueger
by
ashkor87 meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 7:44 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 5:20 pm
I don't know what kind of motivation a player that announced this is her last year can have.
She will collect the checks she can, and rightly so, and then bye bye Danielle. But I don't see her playing top tennis anymore.
i'm not sure she 100% meant that about retirement, and these days, retirement can mean an indefinite break but not final. She's probably burnt out and I don't expect great tennis from her, but you never know when things might change for her and she's engaged again. Just hard to say. I hope we haven't seen the last of her best tennis. She's fun to have in the mix. But I bet the rhuematoid arthritis is hard to deal with.
She said she wants to start a family..
by ashkor87 Ostapenko has withdrawn it seems
by ti-amie Day 4 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 2:00 AM
KAZ A. DANILINA/UKR N. KICHENOK vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA/BRA L. STEFANI (2)
UPCOMING
PHI A. EALA vs POL M. LINETTE
UPCOMING
JPN N. OSAKA vs USA D. COLLINS
UPCOMING
GBR H. WATSON vs RUS V. KUDERMETOVA (9)
UPCOMING
UKR L. TSURENKO vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
ADCB Court 1
Starts at 2:30 AM
ESP S. SORRIBES TORMO vs CZE L. NOSKOVA
UPCOMING
CHN Xinyu WANG vs CHN L. ZHU
UPCOMING
HUN T. BABOS/RUS V. ZVONAREVA vs CZE M. BOUZKOVA/ESP S. SORRIBES TORMO (4)
UPCOMING
UKR A. KALININA vs ITA L. BRONZETTI
UPCOMING
TUN O. JABEUR/JPN N. OSAKA vs CHN Xinyu WANG/CHN S. ZHENG
by ashkor87 Osaka's statements sound ominously like she is not going to play the full middle east swing either.. she will quit as soon as she gets a couple matches.. I hope she doesn't!!
by ashkor87 Jabeur had better watch out .Raducanu is in great form and she is a major champion..am looking for Raducanu to win...especially since Jabeur doesn't appear to be playing all that well lately....
by Suliso I wonder if Osaka's heart is really into it anymore. This was a pretty bad loss score wise (7-5, 6-0)...
by ashkor87 good, now Osaka will play a couple more tournaments, I hope..
by
ponchi101 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 12:31 pm
Jabeur had better watch out .Raducanu is in great form and she is a major champion..am looking for Raducanu to win...especially since Jabeur doesn't appear to be playing all that well lately....
Emma is a major champion by definition because she has won a major.
But I gather I can be a total jerk and say she is NO MAJOR champ. It is not as if she inspires fear on anybody when she steps on a court.
And you know I really like her.
by ashkor87 She is fearless, though...
by ponchi101 That is one of those adjectives that I wonder what it really means.
From fearless (Emma to you) to reckless (Ostapenko to a lot of people) there are only a few shots that land out during a match.
Having said that: I believe Emma has a very good shot. Something is off with Ons' game.
by ti-amie Order of Play Wednesday February 7, 2024
Stadium Court
Starts at 4:00 AM
RUS D. KASATKINA (7) vs USA A. KRUEGER
Followed by
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs POL M. LINETTE
Followed by
ROU S. CIRSTEA vs GRE M. SAKKARI (3)
Followed by
GBR E. RADUCANU vs TUN O. JABEUR (2)
ADCB Court 1
Starts at 5:30 AM
JPN M. KATO/INA A. SUTJIADI vs USA S. KENIN/USA B. MATTEK-SANDS
Followed by
USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/AUS E. PEREZ (1) vs CZE L. NOSKOVA/GBR H. WATSON
Followed by
JPN S. AOYAMA/SRB A. KRUNIC vs TPE F. WU/CHN L. ZHU
by ashkor87 Poor Tsurenko...lots of bagels lately .wonder why? Is her serve very attackable?
by ashkor87 Cirstea vs Sakkari is one I want to see..Cirstea let me down so badly in the AO SP, but she beat Garcia yesterday ..
by
ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 5:28 pm
That is one of those adjectives that I wonder what it really means.
From fearless (Emma to you) to reckless (Ostapenko to a lot of people) there are only a few shots that land out during a match.
Having said that: I believe Emma has a very good shot. Something is off with Ons' game.
Not intimidated by the opponent or by the ocassion, self-belief...that is why both Ostapenko and Raducanu have won majors!
by ashkor87 Just noticed the Leykold name in the court..that is the one the USO uses .probably many others as well .
by
ashkor87 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:23 am
Poor Tsurenko...lots of bagels lately .wonder why? Is her serve very attackable?
also, it matters who is handing out the bagels, I suppose.. Sabalenka and Samsonova are the two most powerful players on the tour, maybe she just cant stand up to them...
by ashkor87 AI says 50.1% Raducanu!! He he .wonder how that .1 happens
by ashkor87 I have a rather low opinion of Sakkari so I certainly expect Cirstea to beat her .though they are both Tier 2 players by my reckoning, Cirstea has been playing well (except when I picked her in the AO SP!!)
by ponchi101 Sorana can be all over the place. Sakkari can be on and off. That match can be a jewel or a disaster.
by ti-amie Cirstea beat Sakkari in straight sets 2&1
Jabeur beat Raducanu in straight sets 4 & 1
The match between Bia and Magda Linette was something else. Bia wore Magda down taking the third set 6-1 in 3h 42m
by ashkor87 Great performance by Jabeur! I wasn't expecting it...
by ti-amie Order of Play Thursday February 8, 2024
Stadium Court
Starts at 4:00 AM
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA (4) vs ESP S. SORRIBES TORMO
Followed by
UKR A. KALININA vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
Followed by
KAZ E. RYBAKINA (1) vs USA D. COLLINS
Followed by
ESP C. BUCSA vs GBR H. WATSON
ADCB Court 1
Starts at 4:00 AM
TPE H. CHAN/MEX G. OLMOS (3) vs POL M. LINETTE/USA B. PERA
Followed by
USA C. DOLEHIDE/USA D. KRAWCZYK vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA/BRA L. STEFANI (2)
Followed by
USA S. KENIN/USA B. MATTEK-SANDS vs CZE M. BOUZKOVA/ESP S. SORRIBES TORMO (4)
- - -
by ashkor87 would not at all be surprised if Collins beats Rybakina today - given the brainless way Rybakina has been playing, and the fact that Collins is playing well..
by ponchi101 BTW.
Some people consider Ka. Pliskova a servebot. Great serve, highly suspect movement, and super flat strokes that tend to fly off. How come Elena has escaped that label? It describes her well.
If Collins is playing well, she can beat almost anybody. So sure, why not?
by
mick1303 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:53 pm
BTW.
Some people consider Ka. Pliskova a servebot. Great serve, highly suspect movement, and super flat strokes that tend to fly off. How come Elena has escaped that label? It describes her well.
If Collins is playing well, she can beat almost anybody. So sure, why not?
The quality you mentioned are more extreme in Pliskova's case.
by texasniteowl and even though Pliskova has been to two finals, the fact that Rybakina actually has won a major probably influences also. and, correct me if I'm wrong, but how much was Rybakina on the radar before 2022 compared to how long Pliskova has been on tour?
by ashkor87 Rybakina returned really well and collins appeared to lose energy as the game went on .Rybakina still hits that forehand very predictably down the middle, at most slightly cross-court but getting away with it
by ti-amie Friday Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 4:00 AM
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA (4) vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
Followed by
KAZ E. RYBAKINA (1) vs ESP C. BUCSA
Followed by
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs TUN O. JABEUR (2)
Followed by
RUS D. KASATKINA (7) vs ROU S. CIRSTEA
ADCB Court 1
Starts at 7:30 AM
CZE L. NOSKOVA/GBR H. WATSON vs JPN S. AOYAMA/SRB A. KRUNIC
by
ashkor87 mick1303 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:38 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:53 pm
BTW.
Some people consider Ka. Pliskova a servebot. Great serve, highly suspect movement, and super flat strokes that tend to fly off. How come Elena has escaped that label? It describes her well.
If Collins is playing well, she can beat almost anybody. So sure, why not?
The quality you mentioned are more extreme in Pliskova's case.
I would not call Rybakina a servebot.. she has a great backhand, pretty good forehand, generates power effortlessly.. i am only complaining about the lack of game plan sometimes.. predictability too.
by mick1303 IMO the term "servebot" in a meaning we apply to ATP is hardly applicable to WTA. The list of women with a serve that would qualify for that is too short. Therefore any negative connotation to the great serve shall be dismissed.
by skatingfan Are there any servbots left - Isner & Karolvic are retired, and Opelka's been injured. It seems like a playing style that is dying off.
by ponchi101 Some people called Pete a servebot. For a guy with an exquisite FH, and some truly majestic volleys.
And I do like Elena's BH, but her forehand has zero margin for error. She must hit the flattest FH since Kerber. It is pretty, but when it is off...
by ashkor87 I agree sampras was much more than a great serve...
by ashkor87 Samsonova vs Rybakina next...interestingly, Samsonova usually beats Rybakina, not sure why...
by
mick1303 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:47 pm
Samsonova vs Rybakina next...interestingly, Samsonova usually beats Rybakina, not sure why...
Some kind of aberration, probably from juniors, because they are 7 months apart (Samsonova is older). But the results of Rybakina are so much better. She reached R16 at slams 5 times, losing there once (also 2 QF, RU + title). Samsonova twice reached R16 and both times lost. Rybakina has 2 Tier I titles (Rome + IW), Samsonova's best is WTA 500. I fully expect Rybakina to overturn this H2H and eventually rectify it a-la Sinner-Medvedev.
by ti-amie Order of Play Saturday February 10, 2024
Stadium Court
Starts at 6:00 AM
RUS D. KASATKINA (7) vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6)
Followed by
KAZ E. RYBAKINA (1) vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
Followed by
USA S. KENIN/USA B. MATTEK-SANDS vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA/BRA L. STEFANI (2)
by ashkor87 Could be a carry-over from juniors but she is 0-4 in the past few years ...could also be that Rybakina',s defence can't handle Samsonova's power, especially the serve...
Let us see what happens here...
by
meganfernandez ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 12:00 am
Could be a carry-over from juniors but she is 0-4 in the past few years ...could also be that Rybakina',s defence can't handle Samsonova's power, especially the serve...
Let us see what happens here...
Rybankina handles Sabalenka's power and serve. Samsonova's can't be more than Sabalenka's, is it? Maybe she has a mental block against Samsonova, if they grew up playing each other.
by
ashkor87 meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 1:17 am
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 12:00 am
Could be a carry-over from juniors but she is 0-4 in the past few years ...could also be that Rybakina',s defence can't handle Samsonova's power, especially the serve...
Let us see what happens here...
Rybankina handles Sabalenka's power and serve. Samsonova's can't be more than Sabalenka's, is it? Maybe she has a mental block against Samsonova, if they grew up playing each other.
Well, Samsonova's serve is probably bigger than Sabalenka',s ..that is where it all begins, maybe..
by ashkor87 Rybakina has handed Samsonova a bagel !
Really exacting her revenge!
by ashkor87 Back on even keel now..one set all
by ashkor87 Delighted that Rybakina finally figured out Samsonova..anyone see the match? I can only see highlight videos, highly misleading...if you saw it,please comment
by ponchi101 These sort of turning-tables have happened before. Pete-Chang, and Roger Vs Hewitt and Nalbandian. The better eventually got the top mark.
On the other hand: Pete-Krajicek. Pete was never able to figure Richard's power.
Some odd things in life will happen.
by ti-amie Sunday Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 3:00 AM
Final
CZE L. NOSKOVA/GBR H. WATSON vs USA S. KENIN/USA B. MATTEK-SANDS
Followed by
Final
KAZ E. RYBAKINA (1) vs RUS D. KASATKINA (7)
by ashkor87 from what little I could make out from Youtube, Samsonova punished Rybakina's second serve.. I imagine Rybakina got a lot of first serves in the first and third sets and not as many in the beginning of the second set.
I am reminded of the Wimbledon semifinals where Laver blasted Ashe in sets 2,3 and 4 after losing the first set.. there were several explanations at the time, which were mosly nonsense.. I saw the entire match on Youtube and it is quite clear what actually happened - Laver did not get many first serves in the first set, started getting more as the match went on. It is sometimes as simple as that.
by ashkor87 Meanwhile, Rybakina's return of serve was exceptional, needs to be against Samsonova.. Samsonova's drop-shots were exquisite... Rybakina sometimes went to the net behind poor approach shots, got passed, she needs to fix that!
again, all this is from a 5 minute highlights video. anyone who saw the match should tell us..
by ashkor87 awesome performance by Rybakina to beat Kasatkina.. what made me really happy is that she was mixing it up well, not the usual down the middle shots..